The Consequences of Compassion
by BDShadothe
Summary: Harry's Saving-People-Thing tended to get him into trouble, but Hermione's compassion always got the best of her, too. Now that she's found herself trying to save Draco Malfoy with the help of his parents and Harry, she must come to terms with the consequences of how far she's willing to go to save a wizard she used to loathe. My own spin on the Veela!Draco trope. Post-Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from Ms. Rowling's works. At most I own only the plot bunny that gnawed on the inside of my head until I finally got all the words out onto...er, electronic paper. No copyright infringement is intended. **

**~*/*\\*~**

**The Consequences of Compassion**

_or_

The Adventure That Ensues When You and Your Best Friend Both Have a Saving-People-Thing

**~*/*\\*~  
**

"You will not go to him, Narcissa," the wizard forbade, his pale fingers tightening their hold on his cane. His grey eyes were steady and implacable, which meant he was expecting her to obey.

His wife's icy blue eyes narrowed to show him she would not be dissuaded. Her fingers, only slightly paler than her husband's, crushed the parchment in defiance of both him and the author of the note.

"I have done as you asked, Lucius. I have given you a _month_ to solve this your way. How much longer will you wait before your pride gives way? Will you wait until our son is beaten? Tortured? _Dead_?"

"They will not harm him," Lucius rebutted confidently.

"Of course," she scoffed. "If it is their doing, then they will only _turn _him the moment we attempt to retrieve him."

"They are bluffing," he assured her. "Everyone knows that is impossible."

"And if it isn't? They are intelligent, despite their wilder traits. They are not to be underestimated. You have _failed_, as you have with everything else in recent years." He flinched, to her vicious satisfaction. "You have failed Draco too many times. I will stand idly by no longer. I _will _go to him, and I _will _obtain an alliance with him. He is the only one in whom I can place my trust. I can persuade him, and he will persuade his friend to help him."

She turned and strode to the fireplace, but her husband quickly followed, still trying to talk her out of it. Despite his skill at twisting words, her anger would not be mollified. She halted right before the floo powder pot and spun around on her heel.

"No, Lucius, I am _not _overreacting," she retorted coldly. "Need I remind you of the promises you made before? Every single one of those you have broken. You did not protect us. You did not gain the Dark Lord's favor. You did _not _do what was best for our family. I love you, and I will never regret having become your wife, but I _refuse _to let you place Draco in any more danger for your own selfish reasons. He is being used against us because of a deal _you _made, which was _also _broken. _I_ will get him back, so go to your study and try _your _hand at waiting around for someone else to fix your problems."

Without giving him any time to reply, she grabbed a handful of green powder, threw it into the fireplace, loudly stated her destination, and stepped through.

**~*/*\\*~**

A quick rap on his office door startled Harry out of his thoughts.

"Come in," he called.

His black eyebrows shot up to his hairline at the sight of Narcissa Malfoy entering his office, skillfully closing the door behind her without breaking stride. She cast several privacy charms on the door, which intrigued him even more. As stern as she was, they were on almost friendly terms after everything that had happened.

"Mister Potter, I require your assistance."

"What is it, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"My son is missing."

**~*/*\\*~**

"_Kidnapped_?" Hermione gasped, her brown eyes widening comically.

Harry nodded grimly, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"She thinks she knows who did it, but she won't tell me anything until the first official meeting. All she gave me was the note, as it's physical evidence that needs to be recorded."

"When is the meeting?"

"In a couple days. You'll come, won't you?"

Hermione gnawed on her lip. "You know I'm happy to help, but shouldn't this stay just between you and her?"

Harry shook his head. "She specifically asked for me to consult with you. Besides, you know Robards considers you an honorary Auror, anyway. I got his permission."

"She _asked _for me?"

"Yeah. She thinks very highly of you, actually."

Hermione frowned. "Since when have you two become so close?"

He shrugged. "She thinks that by sparing her family from prison and the Kiss I've paid back my life debt to her three times over. She insisted on giving me information. I owl her from time to time when I need it – she's a gossip, so she knows a lot about other pureblood families – and I've actually solved quite a few cases because of her help. She reads through the recordings of my interrogations and picks through them to give me clues about what the suspect is hiding. A lot of them have a tendency to brag in a very cunning way, so she connects the dots. After the first case I closed with her, I got permission for her to be an official consultant, just like you."

"Oh," she replied, shocked at the elder witch's actions. She could count the number of times she'd interacted with Narcissa Malfoy on half a hand and every one of those times had been unpleasant due to a fundamental conflict of deep-seated beliefs on both sides. But if Harry had built a civil relationship with her, then Hermione supposed she could be civil as well.

"Well…alright then. What do we know so far?"

"Here's the note that was left for Lucius," Harry stated, handing it to her.

_Your son will not be harmed, so long as you come peacefully. Should you come with other intentions, we will wait no longer for your blessing._

**~*/*\\*~**

"Alright, Narcissa. What do you know?" Harry started after the three of them had settled down in the meeting room.

"I did not witness Draco's kidnapping, but the note proves my suspicion of who took him."

"Who?"

"The veela clan."

He frowned. "Sorry?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "What veela clan?"

"There is a clan in the northeast of Scotland, I know not the exact location. Lucius may know, but I would not be surprised if even he didn't. Like most clans they are very wary of outsiders, especially wizards, and keep to themselves in the woods and mountains.

"To this day Lucius has still not confided in me the entire story, but what I understand is that he came across a full-blood veela while traveling with his parents the summer before his seventh year. She had attempted to seduce him, but he refused and she grew confused and angry. He explained that he has veela blood in him, so he is resistant to veela charms. This particular veela took that as a challenge and pursued him all summer. Because of his loyalty to me, he resisted, and eventually convinced a friend to drink Polyjuice Potion and satisfy her. The veela, having enjoyed the experience, pursued him once again. He refused again, so she went to her clan and claimed he had defiled her. The clan found him and imprisoned him until he promised to marry her. He agreed but then escaped during the night. He rejoined his parents and persuaded them to move elsewhere for the rest of the vacation, so he never heard from them again.

"He made a promise to a veela clan and broke it. I fear they have been watching us all these years and waited for the perfect time to steal our son."

"What is their intention with Draco? Leverage?" Harry asked.

"I believe they intend to make him a full-blooded veela."

"That's impossible." Hermione responded at once. "There's no such thing as a full-blooded male veela."

"You are correct, Miss Granger, in that there is no such creature as a _naturally born_ full-blooded male veela."

"How could they 'turn' him into one?" the brunette asked, picking up on the distinction.

"How do you think they procreate, if there are no male veela to mate with?" Narcissa countered.

Hermione remained pensively silent.

"Veela are too secretive for their wild mating habits to be documented. The only ones we know of are those of a veela and a wizard, whose offspring is only half-veela, not full-blooded. With the lack of a full-blooded male, I believe veela perform a ritual in preparation of mating in order to create full-blood offspring."

"So they'll cast a spell on Draco and mate with him as payment for Lucius' rejection?" Harry clarified.

Narcissa nodded. "Precisely."

Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

"Now you understand my predicament. Lucius believes they will not harm him no matter what we do, but I only believe that in the physical sense. For right now, I believe it is safe to assume they are waiting for us to decide, but if we declare that we do not agree to the marriage, I fear they will force him."

"So your choices are to give the marriage your blessing or not, but either way it will happen?" Harry summarized.

"Yes. I cannot abide either choice, as I know Draco does not want this, but I do not see another option."

"That's no choice at all!" Hermione burst out. "Of course Draco doesn't want this, because he has absolutely no say in it! It's totally barbaric!"

"Could you bribe them?" Harry suggested uncertainly.

The blonde shook her head once. "Lucius has tried all the usual tactics, but as they live in their own society, they have no use for money or material items we deem valuable."

"Could we substitute someone else in his place?"

"Harry!" Hermione admonished.

Narcissa shook her head again. "If I am correct, they need a wizard who has veela blood in him. I believe this is because the ritual uses that blood as a catalyst."

"But we don't know that for sure?" Harry pushed.

"No," Narcissa admitted, "but it would explain why the veela had wanted Lucius to marry her once he had admitted his heritage, so he could become part of the clan."

"Well, I'm fresh out. Any brilliant ideas, Hermione?" her friend asked.

"Isn't there anything else they could want in payment? What do they need?" Hermione queried.

"As far as we know, nothing. They survive only on nature, as they have for centuries."

"There must be something else. No civilization is so self-sufficient as to not desire anything," the brunette insisted. "Would a parlay be possible?"

"It might."

"Then that is what I suggest. Start a dialogue and see if some other payment can be agreed upon. As primitive as they seem, they haven't harmed Draco yet, which means there is hope for them to be reasonable. It sounds as if they merely want some form of compensation for the broken promise, not bloodshed."

"Then that is what we will do," Narcissa decided, "provided you come with me."

Hermione frowned. "Me? Why do you need me?"

The elder witch smirked. "I may have a plan."

**~*/*\\*~**

Hermione sighed, realizing that this situation right here was proof that Harry was not the only one with a Saving-People-Thing. She hadn't protested nearly as much as she should have.

She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Firstly, she'd never thought she'd ever willingly travel with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, especially since the former still didn't seem too keen on her existence, despite the latter's apparent fondness of her. Secondly, she was travelling with them on a mission to yet again deceive a clan of veela who could easily set them all on fire at any given moment. Thirdly, she was risking life and limb for the sake of freeing Draco Malfoy, yet another person her past self would have deemed her present self completely mental for aiding in any fashion. It was turning out to be a very strange situation, and she just knew it was going to get worse. Then again, as long as she didn't have to ride on the back of a dragon to escape, she could handle whatever happened.

"This is your plan, Narcissa?" Lucius drawled with a hint of disgust. "Wander around aimlessly until they find us and capture us like common trespassers?"

"Do you want your son back or not?" Narcissa snapped as she surveyed their surroundings. "At least I _have _a plan that has a chance of working, which is more than you can say."

The silver lining about traveling with these two was that she got a fascinating insight into two people she had once loathed beyond almost anyone. Lucius Malfoy was not quite so scary when he cowered in the face of his angry wife, who could put him in his place with a few choice words. She was actually sort of enjoying listening to them bicker like any normal married couple.

Lucius gave no answer save a scowl that could have been a disgruntled pout, which made Hermione all the more amused.

A sudden rustle in the nearby trees set all three of them on alert.

A woman wearing a dress made out of layered leaves approached them. The covering left almost none of her form to the imagination, but her beauty made it look anything but indecent. Her silvery blond hair flowed almost down to her knees and it looked as silky as if it had been washed and combed to perfection. Her blue eyes shone with mischief and she smiled at them, beckoning them with one hand.

"Come," she said with a musical voice. "We have been expecting you."

She led them through the densest part of the forest and into a mountain valley. On the other side was a smaller forest overlooking the sea. This forest, apparently, was the veela's home.

The trio was shown to the apparent clan leader, a regal-looking veela who had the same silver hair and blue eyes. She bore a crown made out of white flowers and green leaves that was held in place by an elegant braid of her own hair. She wore various colored flowers mixed in with her leaf dress. Her throne sat atop a small hill flanked by two ancient trees. The throne itself was formed by the roots, which the veela had decorated with more leaves, moss, and flowers.

As Hermione and the Malfoys approached, the other veela gathered around them but remained silent.

"Welcome again to our home, Lucius Malfoy," the elder veela called in the most enchanting voice Hermione had ever heard. "I hope you are here with much more honest intentions than you were before."

Narcissa nudged her husband, who didn't look at all pleased to be back. He cleared his throat.

"We appreciate your hospitality, Sielle," he replied in his usual silky tone. "Before we speak on this matter, allow me to witness that my son is as you have promised, alive and unharmed in any manner."

Sielle smiled and nodded. Three of the veela behind them scampered off and returned a few minutes later with Draco Malfoy held between them. He was walking on his own, but their hands on his back and shoulders were clearly meant to keep him from trying to escape. His platinum blond hair, the same shade as his parents', was mussed and his usually immaculate robes dirty and torn, but he looked healthy, especially wearing his trademarked expression of arrogant aloofness.

"Draco, darling, are you well?" Narcissa asked immediately.

Her son cleared his throat as if not used to speaking. "As well as can be expected, Mother," he replied roughly. "I can attest to the fact that they have neither harmed nor intended to harm me during my captivity. We have merely been waiting." He shot a glare at his father on the last word, as if knowing that the delay had been all his fault.

"As you see," Sielle broke in, "we have kept our promise. Now it is time for you to keep yours. Draco shall remain here and be bonded to Arbri," she gestured to one of the veela near her, who smiled, "and we shall consider your promise kept."

"Ah," Lucius objected. "You see, that puts us in a very difficult position."

Hermione took a deep breath as her heart rate increased. This was it. Hopefully she wouldn't have to say much, as she knew she wasn't a gifted actress, but she might be able to scrape by just with the fear of what would happen if she failed. It also helped that she felt immense compassion for Draco at the moment, considering none of this was even remotely his fault.

"Does it?" Sielle asked in amusement. "And what is the problem with fulfilling your oath to us?"

"Oh no, I have no issue with fulfilling my oath to you. The issue is that Draco already has a betrothed, and if I allow him to wed Arbri, then he would break his oath to Hermione Granger, which would cause yet another messy situation."

Sielle finally turned to Hermione, and the brunette stared back as confidently as she could manage under such severe stress. She knew what she was likely going to have to do to prove her fake betrothal to Draco, and she was not looking forward to it.

"Is this true, Hermione Granger? Are you promised to Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes." She gave herself a mental pat on the back for not letting her voice crack at those suspicious eyes drilling into hers. She didn't dare look at Draco, however, because she _knew _she'd crack like a dropped egg if she did.

"Then why have you not looked at him once?" Sielle asked slyly.

"Because the last time we spoke, we argued." Not a lie. "I'm…ashamed of how I treated him in our last moments together. I'm afraid he's terribly angry with me." Also not a lie. She didn't imagine he'd be thrilled at all to have to fake a betrothal to her of all witches.

"And you, Draco Malfoy?" Sielle turned her gaze to him. "Have you promised yourself to Hermione Granger?"

Hermione held her breath. Draco's answer would either save them or cause their painful, fiery deaths. She prayed he had caught on to the out they were giving him, and that his dislike of her didn't outweigh his sense of self-preservation.

"I have," he confirmed, and Hermione's breath rushed out of her in relief. She chanced looking at him through the corner of her eye.

Sielle narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "And yet you have not protested before?"

Draco stared her down. "When was I able to protest? When I was struck and captured from behind? When I was locked in a room by myself for weeks? To whom should I have protested?"

The leader relaxed and nodded. "We kept you apart from us to keep you safe from the most ambitious of us. In light of this, I must ask your forgiveness, Draco Malfoy."

"He was struck from behind?" Lucius repeated coldly.

Sielle turned her eyes toward him. "Your son was not captured as easily as we had expected."

"And what of your promise not to harm him, oathbreaker?" The elder Malfoy fired back.

"We healed the wound. His overall health was not harmed."

"But his head was wounded at all, and by that fact you have broken your oath to me."

Hermione almost smiled at the anger beginning to show on Sielle's face. For the first time in her life, she was rooting for Lucius.

"Very well," Sielle replied at last. "We have both broken our oaths. Let the past remain in the past and we shall start anew, provided that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are truly promised to the other."

"And why should that affect our agreement now?" Lucius replied haughtily.

"If you have broken two oaths by lying to me, then we are not even in the eyes of the Great Mother."

That was her cue. Hermione knew what she had to do, and she had to do it now or she'd lose her nerve and they'd all be doomed.

"May I?" she spoke quickly to Sielle, who turned her luminous eyes to the brunette.

The veela queen nodded. Instantly, the three veela guarding Draco stepped away, sulking.

Without giving herself any time to think on it further, Hermione whipped around and ran full tilt to her 'betrothed'. She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him like he were Harry or Ron after they had just escaped yet another near-death experience. She trembled with nerves and adrenaline, praying that he would follow her lead, terrified that he wouldn't.

After what seemed like five minutes, but was probably only five seconds, Draco wrapped his arms around her shaking body and hugged her back. Five points to Slytherin for being quick on the uptake.

But if she should have remembered one thing about Draco Malfoy, it was that he never wasted an opportunity to one-up her. Pretending to be her fiancé, even if only momentarily, was just another excuse to prove he was better than her at something. He pulled back a little, moved one finger under her chin, and gently tilted it up toward his face. His lips descended on hers and her body immediately stopped shaking from sheer shock.

The competitive nature of it was familiar territory, though, so Hermione boldly kissed him back and attempted to deepen it by running her tongue along his lips. He stiffened for a moment, which caused her to smile, but then he tightened his arms around her possessively, flattening her body against his, and allowed her tongue inside so he could lightly suck on it. She bit his lip in retaliation, reaching up with her hands to grip his soft locks, and he slid his hands down past her waist to cup her bum.

Someone loudly cleared their throat, probably Lucius, which startled the two out of their Chicken contest. Hermione jumped back out of Draco's embrace, blushing madly, but Draco wore an unashamedly triumphant smirk, the clear victor of this competition.

Hermione stared at the ground in utter mortification at what she had just done, in front of his parents, no less. Yes, Narcissa had told her to make it convincing, but that had gone just a tad too far. Even worse than that, Hermione realized she had had no intention of stopping until Lucius had called them back to their senses.

"Do you still doubt the strength of their affection?" Narcissa asked the clan leader with amusement.

"No," the veela answered. "I have not witnessed such true passion in a very long time. You may all leave unharried."

The four wasted no time in doing so, bidding the clan a formal but hasty goodbye.

**~*/*\\*~**

Once they were back in London, Hermione cited the first excuse that came to mind, which was that Harry had to be informed of their success. She apparated directly to the Ministry entrance and spent about two hours in her own office, processing, hyperventilating, and gaping at her own audacity.

She eventually decided that, once she'd had enough time to get used to the idea that snogging Draco Malfoy turned her into a common hussy, she would be able to put the whole thing behind her and simply avoid Draco for the rest of their natural lives. That wouldn't be so hard to accomplish. The last time they had spoken had been a spectacular row on their last day as students before they mutually agreed to ignore each other and the other's friends as much as possible. They could easily go another five or six years without speaking a word to the other.

Despite feeling somewhat more together, a sudden knock on her office door violently startled her. She quickly shoved the brown paper bag she had been using into a desk drawer and closed it.

"Come in," she called, clasping her hands together atop her desk.

"Imagine my surprise," a freshly cleaned and changed Draco drawled as he closed the door behind him and leaned against it while crossing his arms, "when I went to Potter's office to answer his indubitably long list of questions about my kidnapping - for the paperwork, you know - and he near toppled out of his chair at the shock of seeing me. Now, it has been two hours and eight minutes since you told my parents and me that you were going to inform Potter about our success. Care to explain exactly what you have been doing in the meantime, since you clearly _haven't _been to see Potter?"

Hermione panicked. He was right, she was caught, all because she'd been obsessing about kissing her ex-enemy, and even worse, about how she had thoroughly _enjoyed _it. She'd even spent an entire ten minutes thinking of ways to persuade him to do it again before she'd realized what an immensely idiotic idea that was.

But then, thankfully, she remembered that it was none of his bloody business what she'd been doing, and she told him so.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Is it?" he queried. "I happen to think it _is _my business what caused you to be so negligent, considering that Potter had nearly hexed me, thinking I was someone else who had drunk Polyjuice Potion for some nefarious purpose."

"Well, it's not," Hermione retorted stubbornly. "Now, if that is all, I have work to do."

Instead of leaving, of course, Draco walked over and leaned his palms onto her desk.

"I don't think you understand, Granger, the repercussions of Potter attacking me unprovoked on Ministry premises," he threatened softly.

She met his eyes and bristled at the blackmail attempt. "I don't think _you _understand, Malfoy, that I don't care. You don't scare me, and I would _think _that after I _just_ saved your sorry arse from being forced into an unwanted marriage, that you'd be a tad more grateful. You're welcome, by the way."

He smirked, and Hermione had the distinct impression he'd been baiting her just so she would bring up that exact point.

"Yes, let's talk about that, shall we? Tell me, do you make it a habit to passionately snog former classmates?"

"No, I don't. In fact, the only reason I did it was as a favor to your mother, who was worried sick about you. Get your head out of your arse, Malfoy. I kissed you to save us all from a painful death by fireball, and that was all. I don't like you, so rest assured it will never happen again."

"Is that so?" he asked, eyeing her critically.

She stared back defiantly. "Yes." So long as her self-control and common sense had any say in it.

He sat down in her visitor's chair instead of leaving. "Pity. I've wondered for years what it would be like to shag you."

"I beg your pardon!" she gaped.

"Don't bother telling me you've never thought about it, Granger. I know you have."

"I haven't!" she lied in a panic. "And what makes you so supremely confident that I have?"

He leveled an intense but serious gaze at her and she was hard-pressed to look away.

"Because what we felt today is not common. I do not normally attempt to shag a witch standing up directly in front of my parents," he answered bluntly, causing her to blush profusely. "Clearly, you felt the same way, as you were not planning on stopping any time soon, if the intensity of your kiss was any indication. Hence, my question about kissing former classmates."

Bugger. She'd been hoping he hadn't noticed that.

"But that was today," she argued. "I hadn't known what kissing you was like before that."

His smirk was back. "Are you honestly telling me you never once wondered what would happen if we'd taken all of the energy we'd put into arguing and channeled it into something far more enjoyable for both of us?"

"Not once." Another bald-faced lie. Good lord, she was turning into a pathological liar all because of this stupid bloody family of them. The truth was, when she'd felt particularly stressed during school exams, she'd imagined Draco doing certain things with his tongue that had nothing to do with insulting her. The reason she'd never felt guilty about it was because she'd known he'd have never found out. It sort of blew her mind that he was basically telling her he had imagined her like that, too.

"Are you sure you want to ignore the opportunity to find out?" he asked.

It took her a few moments to mentally double-check that those words had, indeed, just come out of his mouth in that order. She was positive that she _ought _to ignore it, for her own sanity, but she definitely did want to know what it would be like. She wanted to know if he could be as talented with his tongue as she had imagined. She wanted to know if shagging him would be just as intense as arguing with him. She wanted to know if his kisses were just as drugging the second time around. She wanted to know if he was capable of distracting her long enough to stop her from overanalyzing sex for once in her life.

She bit her lip, her decision made. "Are you offering said opportunity?"

"Yes, I am."

She licked her lips, preparing her response. "Then yes," she replied, watching his smirk widen, "I am willing to ignore it."

His smirk dropped instantly and he raised an eyebrow. "Don't you goody-goody Gryffindors ever get tired of denying yourselves what you want?"

"No, especially when I know what I am denying myself is toxic. My good sense has kept me alive so far, and I'm not keen on that changing." It was like asking why a woman _didn't _give into the urge to buy all the chocolate in a candy store and eat it all in one sitting. It simply wasn't healthy.

That irritating smirk was back. "Ah, I see. You're afraid that once you start, you won't be able to stop."

Basically, yeah.

"You can tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, Malfoy," she replied instead. "It makes no difference to me. But if you could please nurse your bruised ego elsewhere, it'd be greatly appreciated."

His confidence didn't waver, however. He stood.

"Let me know when you change your mind," he said in a knowing tone before leaving.

She rolled her eyes as he shut the door behind him. As if she would ever have a good reason to kiss him again.

**~*/*\\*~**

**A/N:** This started out as a one-shot but it got so long that I decided to break it up into a two-shot, with potential for more if there's enough interest and inspiration. Is there any interest in reading more? Let me know! Thanks for giving this a shot!


	2. Chapter 2

"So then the bloke says to –"

"Hold on, Ron," Harry interrupted, reading the letter he had just received by owl. He finally looked up to Hermione, sighing. "Bloody hell. It's from Narcissa. It's happened again."

Hermione frowned as the two started gathering their things and preparing to apparate.

"Again?" She gnawed on her lip, wondering what could have possibly made Sielle change her mind about letting Draco off the hook.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Malfoy," Harry answered. "Sorry, but he needs to be rescued, again."

"Does he?" Ron grouched.

"You're free to come help," Hermione offered.

Ron scoffed predictably. "Why would I want to help save the Ferret?"

"Because his mother saved all of us," Harry snipped, "if you've forgotten."

"She was saving her own hide," Ron mumbled half-heartedly.

"Let's go, Harry," Hermione urged before Ron's mouth could start something.

The two apparated to the outskirts of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa and Lucius met them at the gates.

"He was to meet us over two hours ago," Narcissa explained quickly, "and he has never been so late. I fear the veela lied to us."

"So are we going back to the forest?" Hermione suggested.

"It is the most likely place," Lucius agreed, strangely civil.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other before taking a deep breath and nodding. Harry held onto Lucius' arm while Hermione latched onto Narcissa's. The couple disapparated.

They landed in the same clearing as they had started from before, so Lucius led the way to the veela's home, and all four of them were surprised to be welcomed.

"Lucius Malfoy, you come again," Sielle greeted. "Has your son changed his decision?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "No. He has been taken once again, and I have come to retrieve him, once again."

Sielle frowned. "Taken? Draco Malfoy is not here. We made an agreement with you and we are bound by that agreement." She paused, tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes.

After a minute or so, she opened them and turned to the closest veela on her right.

"Flaura, has Arbri returned from hunting?"

"No, Clan Mother," Flaura answered.

Sielle's frown deepened. "Gather your sisters. I fear Arbri has defied the Great Mother once again." She turned to Lucius. "Please accept my sincerest apologies. Arbri is young and as reckless as her mother once was. We will find her and punish her for breaking our pact. We will lead you to her preferred section of the forest so that we may all search for your son."

They waited another minute before five more veela returned with Flaura and the eleven of them set off into the forest, Sielle leading.

They split into pairs once they reached the correct section, except for Sielle who searched alone.

Harry and Hermione heard the veela near them making high-pitched screeches intermittently, and it reminded Hermione of a sort of echolocation, which she supposed it could have been.

"Our lives are never boring, are they?" Harry asked as they searched.

Hermione laughed. "I don't think they could be even if we tried, what with the Weasleys and now the Malfoys always getting into trouble."

Suddenly, Harry stopped, frowning. "Do you feel that?"

Hermione shook her head.

Her best friend scanned their surroundings. "It feels like…a tingle, or something. Like magic."

The brunette sighed mentally. It was always Harry seeing, hearing, and feeling things other people couldn't. That was part of why he was such a trouble magnet himself. Of course, she'd assumed it was simply the fact that he'd had part of Voldemort's soul inside him, but apparently it was all Harry. Or maybe his body had been permanently affected by having another soul inside it for so long? Hermione frowned thoughtfully. She'd have to look into that theory later.

"Lead the way," she said, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

Harry led them to a clearing with a lake and looked around.

"They're here, somewhere."

Now she could feel it, too. The magic was thick in the air, almost like a sort of humidity, but not exactly heavy.

"Draco!" she called out on a whim. They waited with bated breath, but then glanced at each other when they heard no response after a minute.

Harry shrugged to say it was worth a try, but was unsurprised it wasn't so easy.

They walked closer to the small lake, looking around to see if they could spot some sort of clue.

"What do you seek?" a veela's voice asked from behind them. They both turned, but were disappointed. It wasn't Arbri.

"We seek Draco Malfoy and Arbri," Hermione responded. "Have you seen them?"

"They are not here," the veela answered. "Please leave, for this is a sacred place for us."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. If there was one veela here, there could be another, and nowhere did it say that veela were incapable of deception. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of any obvious excuse they could use to stay.

Then they heard a distant shout from the trees behind the lake.

Without thinking, Hermione took off toward the sound, hugging the shoreline as closely as she dared to get there faster. Harry and the veela followed.

The woods here were moderately thick, but soon opened up to a second clearing. Just before they reached it, Harry's yelp made the brunette skid to a halt and whirl around.

The veela had Harry's head locked in her embrace, her hands threatening to snap his neck.

"Go no further, Hermione Granger," she warned. "Draco Malfoy will become like us. You cannot stop it."

A wave of anger swept over her. Sure, Draco was a completely insensitive, arrogant arsehole. But no matter his personality, she would fight like hell for _anyone _to choose their own future.

"Let him go," Hermione enunciated clearly. "I _will _stop it, no matter _what _gets in my way."

The veela didn't budge, so Hermione attacked. She flung a wandless and silent Stinging Hex at the veela's hand to free Harry, who was smart enough to duck and roll to the side, and then drew her wand. Enraged that the witch had surprised her, the veela screeched and rapidly transformed into her bird-like form, shooting fireballs at Hermione. The witch rushed to cast a shield charm and tried to dodge them. When a fifth fireball shattered the shield, she ducked and sent jets of water to drench the veela's hands. The creature was distracted just long enough for Hermione to Stun it and it fell to the ground. She conjured ropes to tie it to a nearby tree, made sure Harry had his wand, and then entered the clearing.

The first thing she saw was a sort of canopied dwelling built between the trunks of two very old trees to her left. Directly in front of it stood a veela, whose back was turned to Hermione. She heard a gasp, and then the veela backed away a few steps.

Draco was kneeling on the ground, his arms and legs wrapped up in vines that held him in place. His blond head was bowed.

"Draco!" she called automatically.

The veela turned to her just as Harry appeared by her side.

"I sent a patronus to Narcissa," he informed her quickly.

"You are too late, Hermione Granger," Arbri gloated. "He has begun the transformation, and he will be mine."

The veela laughed then, a tinkling laughter that grated on the brunette. The anger she had felt before returned, fueled by her fear, and she swam with it.

"He'll _never _be yours!" Hermione screamed back in his defense. "He'll never choose you!"

"He will," the veela assured, grinning. She turned her attention to the male in question. "Rise, mate, and claim what is yours."

Draco raised his head and even from the edge of the clearing, Hermione could see he had changed. His pale skin glowed with vitality, his normally grey eyes now shone silver in their luminescence, and he had a nearly visible aura of power radiating from him.

The vines released him and he stood, his movements carrying a mesmerizing sort of grace. Arbri leaped at him just as gracefully the moment he was on his feet and he accepted her into his embrace.

They kissed, and Hermione felt a cold breeze brush her hair back, biting her skin and even chilling her bones. Despair flooded her insides, making her want to collapse to the ground and sob in loss. She had failed. She hadn't saved him, though she'd promised Narcissa she would.

Harry hugged her and she realized she was silently crying. When Draco entwined his fingers into Arbri's hair, pulling her body flush up against his, Hermione felt a punch to her gut, instantly reminding her of how it had felt to watch Ron snog Lavender back in Sixth Year.

The pretty girl always got the boy in the end, she reminded herself viciously. How could she compete with a _veela_? Sure, Draco had said he'd wanted her, but that could have been because he was bored, or just for the novelty of it. She didn't want him, anyway, right?

She broke away from Harry and rushed back into the forest, but stopped short when she was met with the Malfoys and the rest of the veela party inspecting the unconscious veela tied to the tree.

Narcissa strode up to her. "Where is he?"

Not trusting herself to speak, Hermione gestured vaguely behind her. She stared at the ground, unable to hide all of her emotions, some of which she couldn't even name at the moment.

As soon as the group hurried after Narcissa into the clearing, Hermione continued running through the trees and she didn't look back.

* * *

"Draco!" Narcissa scolded, the moment she spotted her son attempting to tumble a veela in the wide open clearing.

Sielle was instantly upon the two, effortlessly pulling Draco back from a giggling Arbri.

"The ritual is not complete," the Clan Mother said calmly. "You have not completed the Bonding, Arbri."

Arbri sulked for a moment before pulling herself up and looking slyly at Draco, who had stopped fighting to be near her.

"The Bonding is unnecessary," she declared insolently, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

"The Bonding is the root of the ritual," the elder countered. "Without it, the Mating will beget a mixed-one, which will be cast out with you."

Arbri narrowed her eyes. "Then let us mate and we shall leave! Draco Malfoy will desire me always! I have no need for this clan if it intends to cast me out as it did my grandmother."

"Let him Bond with another and you both shall leave after the ritual is complete."

"No!" Arbri shrieked. "He is _mine_!"

"Then Bond with him and he shall be yours to do with as you please. He must Bond or he will never return to himself."

Arbri sulked, finally relenting. "Very well."

As they all started to presumably return to the veela's home, Narcissa finally had a proper look at her son, noticing his new appearance and lack of loquacity.

"Draco? How are you, darling?" she asked gently, approaching him.

He looked at her with those same luminous eyes all veela had, except silver instead of blue. He seemed to struggle with what to say for a moment.

"I am well, Mother," he said, almost sounding like his usual self, except for his melodic tone.

They walked behind the others, who led the way back. "Do you care for Arbri?" she tested.

"I must mate," was his simple reply, and that was when she understood.

He was currently a hybrid, the wizard and the beast fighting for dominance at any given moment. Fortunately, based on the previous conversation, it was implied that he would return to being only a wizard once this ritual was complete, but until then, he had to constantly prevent the veela from taking over completely and mating with Arbri. She deduced that the overwhelming urge to mate was the reason the veela performed the Bonding first, before the male transformed.

Sielle walked straight past the still-unconscious veela tied to the tree, but Narcissa took a moment to appreciate Hermione's work. The veela did not seem to be seriously injured, but to have been knocked out for so long was a testament to Hermione's power.

Where had she run off to, anyway, the poor girl? How terrible it must feel to finally realize hidden feelings for a boy only when he was about to be joined to another, however temporarily. She felt a heavy sympathy for the younger witch, who hadn't had a chance. Draco had grown into a very handsome wizard, and his intelligence was no doubt just as attractive to the consummate bookworm as his looks. Speaking of Draco...

Narcissa noticed Draco was no longer beside her. A warm, gentle breeze blew her long hair back slightly, but she turned against it in favor of keeping her son within her sight.

"Draco?" she questioned, seeing him standing several strides back. He tilted his head up, his eyes closed as if enjoying the breeze upon his face.

He turned his head slowly from one side to the other, inhaling deeply and evenly.

He finally opened his eyes, which gazed past her. "Mate," he sighed, with a slight smile.

Narcissa frowned and opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but she was silenced when he coiled his body for a moment and then dashed off, skillfully racing past the entire group.

Everyone else stared after him in surprise before Arbri growled and ran after him, followed by Sielle and the other veela. Lucius tried to follow, but Harry and Narcissa caught up to him soon enough, knowing that none of them could match the speed of a determined veela on the hunt.

Narcissa didn't know exactly what had just happened, but she had a shrewd idea after seeing the look of anger on Arbri's face. She smiled, thinking that perhaps it might work out for the best anyhow.

"Come, Lucius, Harry," she ordered, walking again. "We shall meet them back at their home."

* * *

Hermione didn't know how far she'd run. She had collapsed against a tree trunk some time ago, giving into her sobs. It was her heartbreak over Ron all over again. The worst part was she didn't even understand why she felt so strongly for Draco. They weren't friends, or even friendly acquaintances, really. They were ex-enemies and ex-classmates at best. She didn't even know him that well, to be perfectly honest.

She supposed it was some combination of lingering interest and the hope Draco's offer had sprouted within her. She hadn't had sex in a while, and so she had been sorely tempted to explore their attraction. Her common sense had come through, of course, but she still wondered what it would be like, and he _had _left it as a standing offer. Perhaps it had been the realization that the offer was no longer on the table that had gotten to her. She'd had a perfectly good chance and had passed it up without truly considering it.

Maybe Draco had been right, she realized as she wiped away her tears. Maybe she was playing it _too _safe, after all the times she'd come so close to death. Shouldn't she enjoy her life while she could?

Well, it was clearly too late for her and Draco to try, but maybe she could start dating, actually try to go out and meet new people. It had been long enough that any romantic feelings for Ron were long extinct, and it would do her some good to be excited about a boy again. Ginny would no doubt help her buy new clothes, maybe a little bit sexier than her current wardrobe, but not too much.

Hermione took deep, calming breaths and stood, brushing off the dirt and leaves. Right. That was what she would do. She was going to stop lamenting about how other girls always got the boy she wanted. She had had a chance with both Ron and Draco, but she hadn't taken either, and now it was too late. It was her fault for not being assertive enough about what she wanted. She was going to stop agonizing over what she _should _want, and start getting what she _did _want.

She looked around, suddenly noticing she had gotten herself completely lost, but then drew her wand as she saw something move in the distance. She frantically looked around for anything wall-like to put her back to, but all she could see were tree trunks and flat ground. She searched for the figure again but found nothing.

She started backing away slowly, her hand clenching her wand, staring at the spot she had last seen it while intently listening for any whisper of movement. When she caught movement to her left, she turned, but then lowered her wand arm when she recognized Draco smiling at her several feet away.

She pressed her free hand against her heart in a vain attempt at calming herself down.

"Merlin, Draco! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she admonished, mentally shoving away the melancholy that threatened to sour her opinion of him. She refused to treat this whole situation as a choice he'd made, when he very clearly hadn't.

It wasn't his fault a veela was doing everything in her near-Imperius-like power to attract him, and was succeeding. Males simply couldn't control themselves around the creatures, and now that Draco was a veela, too, it was probably doubly worse for him, as the pull to mate with one's own kind was no doubt very strong.

See? She could reason this out and not become a bitter old spinster with too many cats.

Draco was still smiling at her, so she smiled back.

"Mate," he said fondly as he approached her.

Hermione frowned in confusion. "Speaking of your mate, where is Arbri? Shouldn't you be with her right now?"

He closed the last couple feet between them all at once, and the witch found herself wrapped up in his arms. He bent his head down into the bend of her neck and shoulder and breathed deeply, exhaling on a contented hum.

"Are you _smelling _me?" she asked incredulously, trying very hard not to be too happy about being held by him. He'd just been snogging Arbri, for Circe's sake! And probably more, her logic told her. She frowned at the mental image of what they had probably done after she left, and then at the possibility the transformation could have left him as a being of pure sexual lust, jumping from female to female in order to create as many offspring as possible, or something like that.

She struggled to free herself from his embrace, but he held firm, nuzzling her neck.

"Don't be afraid, mate," he soothed. "I will protect you."

She opened her mouth to wonder why she would need to be protected, and why he thought _she _was his mate, but was cut off by an angry screech.

"No!"

Hermione turned her head to see a furious Arbri stalking toward them.

Oh, bloody hell. The fun never ceased, did it?

Before Hermione could prepare herself for another duel with a veela, Draco stepped between the two and quickly tore off his robe and shirt, flinging the now-rags to the ground. Hermione allowed her eyes to linger appreciatively on his bare, defined shoulders and back before watching Arbri to see what she'd do.

"You protect _her_?"

"She is my mate," Draco declared. "You will not harm her."

Enraged, Arbri transformed, and now that Hermione was essentially on the sidelines, she had time to note the red beak, red and white wings, and black talons before the creature started throwing fireballs. Draco leaned forward and Hermione jumped backward as larger black and white wings sprouted from his back, which he curled in front of him like shields, helping him deflect each attack. He caught the veela's last fireball in his own black, clawed hand and launched it back at her. She dodged it.

Sielle and the other veela found them then. With a snap of the elder's fingers, Arbri was wrapped in vines and bound on her knees, screeching loudly.

After much struggling and fruitless noise, Arbri became subdued, reverting back to her human form dejectedly.

Sielle turned to Hermione and Draco. "Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, please follow me. You must Bond quickly, before the Mating is forced." She snapped her fingers again and the vines detached from the ground, but kept Arbri's wrists tied together. The defeated veela walked alongside her Clan Mother, and the rest of the clan followed, Draco and Hermione at the rear.

Draco left his torn shirt and robes on the ground where they had fallen, despite having reverted back as well. He slung his bare arm around Hermione's shoulders, keeping her close. She contemplated shrugging him off, but decided that she liked the comfort it provided, so she allowed it. They could discuss the consequences of this later, when he wasn't under the influence of extremely potent magic and surrounded by veela. If Narcissa's suspicions were correct, and it very much seemed that they were, Draco would not be back to normal until they somehow completed this Bonding ritual, so that was their next step.

Before they reached the veela's home, Hermione noticed Draco starting to crack under the pressure of the urge to mate. His hand kept wandering and she kept fending it off every time it slid down toward her breast. Eventually, she grabbed his hand, unwrapped his arm from around her, and laced their fingers together, letting their arms drop between them. He seemed content enough with that, as it removed that particular temptation altogether, so they made it back without any mishaps.

The group found Lucius and Narcissa conversing with the veela that had remained at their home. The seated couple looked up expectantly, and the group parted. Sielle took Arbri somewhere towards the back, the other veela greeted the ones that had stayed, and Draco and Hermione walked toward his parents, still hand-in-hand.

Narcissa smirked and gave Hermione a nod of approval once she spotted it, making the brunette blush, whereas Lucius only scowled at her with mild distaste, which was a huge improvement for him. The mother looked her son over critically and asked him what had happened. Draco, sounding much closer to his wizard-self, had only gotten partway through the tale when Sielle approached them.

"It is time," she said, beckoning them. The three Malfoys and Hermione followed dutifully.

Still holding his hand, Hermione felt his body nearly tremble. At first she thought it was his excitement because they both knew it would be over soon, but then she wondered if the urge to mate might be more difficult to resist than she had guessed. She glanced up at him, worried he might be in pain, but when his face turned to her, she realized that any pain he felt was self-inflicted.

His free hand was curled into a fist, partly-transformed so that his nails had sharpened and were digging into his own palm. The thin, slow rivulets of blood flowing down his fingers and dripping to the ground meant it was much worse than she had thought.

She stared up at him with wide, sympathetic eyes, but she recognized his focused gaze as lust layered with fierce protectiveness. That was when she noticed him starting to lose control. The trembling became visible and his eyes dilated. They stopped walking. The hand connected with hers gently tugged her closer and she found herself obeying instantly. Her free hand rested on his bare chest and the scent that surrounded him was heady. It would be so easy to lift herself onto her toes, stretch upward, and press her mouth against his.

"We have arrived," Sielle announced, breaking them out of their shared trance and catching their attention.

The Clan Mother had brought them to a river near the mountain valley that protected their home.

"This is a sacred place, the Life Giver, we have named it," she explained. "All Bondings occur here, as they are the path to bring new life. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, kneel before the river."

They did so. Hermione was trembling a little herself, her adrenaline running high. She was hyper-aware of the press of his palm against hers and their securely interlocked fingers. Just the knowledge that the only way for him to resist pouncing on her was to cause himself pain...it was strangely arousing and made her want more than anything to tell him to stop resisting.

"Drink from it," came the next instruction, and they obeyed, each scooping some water into their free hand and tipping it into their mouth.

Sielle walked over to a nearby bush and extracted two berries from it.

"It is customary," she said when she returned, "that these berries are blessed in the river and then eaten, to prepare for the Mating. Draco Malfoy has already been fed his berry, so it need not be blessed again."

She handed one berry to Hermione to take, and then dipped the other in the river before handing it to Draco.

"Draco Malfoy, feed Hermione Granger the berry I gave to you."

He did so, pressing the berry lightly against her lips. Hermione accidentally licked his finger in the process of taking it with her lips and tongue, but the effect was immediate and obvious. His silvery eyes latched onto hers and then dropped down as his fingers stroked the pillow of her bottom lip. She trembled in anticipation of his kiss, and assumed veela magic was at work. He was gorgeous on his own, but the sexual tension between them had heightened drastically in the last several seconds. She breathed deeply to keep herself under control, but realized belatedly that he must be releasing pheromones in her direction. His entrancing scent had grown stronger. She tried to resist but her head was gradually becoming fuzzy again, drawn back into the trance.

"Hermione Granger, feed Draco Malfoy the berry I gave to you."

She hovered the berry just before his lips to prevent a similar occurrence, but Draco held her gaze as his tongue reached out to lick her fingers and capture the berry. She cursed him mentally by narrowing her eyes at him. He smirked predatorily and instantly her knickers dampened. It was a much more intense version of the sensual smirk she had fantasized about so many times at school. She suddenly felt hot and she knew it was a lost cause. She hoped it wouldn't be long now.

"These berries are the seeds of life. May the Great Mother allow them to mix with the Life Giver's bounty, to grow and bring new life. Narcissa Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy, now we leave them to the Mating."

Neither Hermione nor Draco noticed them leaving.

In all honesty, Hermione had only paid the bare minimum of her attention to the ritual. Draco the Veela exuded so much sex appeal that it was hard to focus on anything else except what they would be doing very shortly, and he hadn't been any help at all in refocusing her. Finally, though, after hearing the word 'life' spoken so many times close together, her eyes widened in shock.

This whole thing, the Bonding, the Mating...it was all one big fertility ritual! Not that she hadn't known that before, since Narcissa had explained that's how she thought veela procreated, but Hermione had only known it in the intellectual sense.

Because she hadn't actually applied that knowledge to her situation, i.e. by thoughtlessly participating in the ritual to revert Draco back into full human form, she was about to _get herself pregnant_!

She panicked, stumbling to her feet. She wasn't ready to be a mother, let alone procreate with someone she had only just decided she wanted to shag!

Draco frowned, his silvery eyes watching her intently. He followed her and quickly wrapped her into his arms, stroking her back soothingly.

"Why are you afraid, mate?" he asked. "I will not hurt you."

She was quite certain that if he were _only _Draco the Wizard, she could do a quick Contraception Charm and get on with it. But she had no idea how Draco the Veela would react to realizing she was preventing pregnancy. The only solution she could come up with on such short notice was to do it secretly by distracting him.

She turned away from him but remained in his embrace, looking at the river.

"I-I'm afraid because...it's been...a very long time for me," she explained. It wasn't a lie, either. She was nervous about engaging in what most certainly would be very passionate sex after such a long time without.

He nipped at her ear. "It will never be 'a very long time' for you ever again," he promised seductively. His voice was so smooth she felt like she could almost rub against it. She sighed, her body relaxing against him.

Then she jolted herself out of it by reminding herself of what she had to do. It was proving very difficult to stay focused, however, because Draco had decided to lift the bottom of her jumper and shirt, sliding his hand against the bare skin of her abdomen. She shivered and felt herself slipping again, so she made an executive decision to just distract him and hope for the best because she couldn't hold off much longer.

She lifted her left hand up and around to pull his head forward, then turned her head toward his to kiss him. He growled lustfully and responded in kind, his hands gripping her body to hold it in place against his. For a few moments she forgot she had any plan at all except for staying like this forever, until they got around to shagging each other into the ground. Passionate had been their snog in front of the veela the first time he'd been taken. This was on a whole other level she couldn't accurately describe with words.

Eventually, his wandering hands reminded her as they stroked her abdomen. Using every last ounce of her concentration to multi-task, she rubbed her tongue against his while grabbing her wand, pointing it at the approximate location of her uterus, and nonverbally cast the charm.

Relief flooded her when she felt the tingling sensation in her womb that meant it had worked. She stored her wand back into her pocket and then detached her lips from his. He tried to follow to reattach them, but she wiggled in his embrace.

"Give me room for just one second," she breathed. He reluctantly loosened his grip on her and she quickly yanked off her jumper. She caught a glimpse of her favorite knicker-ruining smirk before balancing on her tiptoes and throwing her arms around his neck to kiss him again.

She was ready. The only thing she could do now was pray that a Contraceptive Charm could negate an ancient fertility ritual.

Taking her lead, Draco slipped his hands back under her shirt and she allowed herself to succumb to the trance as they snogged. The next time she was pulled out of it was when he had pulled her to the ground with him and was kneeling in between her slightly spread legs as he discarded her shirt. After another haze, she found both their trousers were off and she was left in her bra and knickers, he in his boxers. After yet another haze of sensation, they were both completely nude on the riverbank. Draco paused, leaning over her, his eyes roaming over every inch of her skin. In any other situation, she would have been embarrassed and uncomfortable, but she was inhaling more pheromones with every breath and her desire for him was mindless. Bugger the romance, she needed him _now_!

She blurted it out instead of simply thinking it, and that was when she realized he'd still been managing to hold back the veela within. After that moment, after expressing her desperation for him, he no longer smirked teasingly or stroked her skin. He latched his mouth onto her breast and thrust inside her, immediately setting a frantic pace that she couldn't sustain. The silver lining, though, was that her lack of a recent love life meant she was extra sensitive everywhere, so the sensation of him moving inside her was too overwhelming for her to do anything anyway, not that he seemed to mind at all.

Her first orgasm came quickly and didn't last long, but it did make her more susceptible to pleasure. While attempting a second, he hit that especially sensitive spot on her upper wall, causing her to gasp and arch her back. He paused his movements for a moment, readjusted his position slightly, and then thrust harder, hitting that same spot with each pass. The pleasure became so intense that she started writhing underneath him, panting and moaning unreservedly. He growled appreciatively and set about sucking on her neck to mark her skin.

"You are mine, now and always, mate," he hissed into her ear. "Only _mine_."

She cried out as she orgasmed again, and this one was much more powerful. He joined her in bliss, and it wasn't until after he had collapsed on top of her that she noticed he smelled differently.

She breathed in deeply, trying to identify what was different about it. It had a hint of sweetness that hadn't been there before, she realized. She took in another lungful and sighed contentedly, feeling that sweetness satisfy a craving she hadn't known she'd had. He eventually rolled them over onto their sides and wrapped her in a warm and comforting embrace. All the excitement had tired her out, so she cuddled into him and was lulled to sleep by his even breathing and sweet, but somehow soothing, new scent.

* * *

She awoke to the feeling of lips being pressed repeatedly against her stomach and abdomen, but she didn't open her eyes until she felt the wet stroke of a tongue.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a smile, her voice still rough and her brain still hazy from sleep.

"Tasting," Draco replied. He pressed another kiss to her skin, and she discerned the feeling of his lips curled into a smirk.

"And how is it?" she played along.

"Salty, but I like it."

She chuckled.

He slowly slid up her body to kiss her lips. When she parted them, he pulled back, making her frown. He tapped her lips twice and she felt minty freshness explode in her mouth.

She raised her eyebrows, a little impressed that he had performed it wandlessly as well as silently. Granted, a Freshening Charm wasn't exactly N.E.W.T. level magic, but even wandless levitation was no simple feat.

He smirked at her in satisfaction, not in the least bit humble about impressing her, and then kissed her, effectively distracting her from all thoughts. His hands wandered all over her breasts and sides until one hand ended up by her knee, which he pulled up to spread her legs apart. She rolled her hips against his, her body automatically warming at his touch, and he took that as a sign to push his erection into her.

She moaned at the pleasant feeling of being filled once more, and then again at the friction he caused when he started moving. She slid one hand up to grip his hair and the other around to press against his back, her hips meeting his in the slow and languid rhythm he set. They eventually reached their peak together and then reassumed their cuddling position, although they did not sleep this time.

Hermione couldn't remember a time when she had felt so relaxed and happy, not to mention her brain didn't feel any less fuzzy than when she had awoken, but it was a good sort of fuzzy, so she allowed herself to lie contentedly in her lover's arms for a while.

"I'm glad you changed your mind, Granger," he said a long time later.

"I didn't-" she started to say, before she remembered exactly how they had ended up here. She'd wanted to help him, but realized the cost too late. He was going to be absolutely insufferable now that she'd slept with him.

She sat up quickly and glanced around, processing everything that had happened. When the wind reminded her that she was naked, she stood and quickly gathered her clothes, donning them one by one.

"Now, now, there's no need for that," Draco persuaded. "Come back here and I'll keep you warm."

She shot him an irritated look, but then got distracted as she took in his figure. He had rolled onto his back and pillowed his hands behind his head, legs stretched out unashamedly. With that knicker-ruining smirk plastered across his face, he looked so... _Malfoy_ that she blushed and looked away, feeling vulnerable but also very tempted to take him up on his offer.

She shook her head and started tossing what remained of his own clothes at him. Having finally shagged her, she was sure he would lose interest and move onto someone else. Sure, his veela part had professed devotion to her, but veela were controlled by instinct probably even more than humans. It had been something said in the heat of the moment, she reasoned. It didn't mean anything now that he wasn't a veela anymore.

She frowned as she realized this was why she had fought so hard against her desire in the first place. It was a unique brand of torture to have known him in this way and also know she shouldn't have it again. He could never care for her the way she would want him to. All he'd done was offer to have sex with her. He'd never said anything about a legitimate, public relationship. She knew now that if she let herself get wrapped up in a solely physical relationship with him, no matter how fantastic the sex would definitely be, he would disappoint her emotionally.

When she finished dressing, she started walking, intending to head back to the mountain pass, but stopped when she couldn't remember if they had come from the left or the right.

While she was busy trying to think of a spell that could help her determine which way to go, Draco snuck up behind her and slid his arms loosely around her waist.

"Lost?" he teased.

She jumped and then stepped away from him before focusing once again on the problem at hand. She was fairly certain they had followed the river here, but it hadn't been the whole way. Maybe if she started walking she would recognize where to break away from it.

"Don't be coy, Granger," Draco admonished playfully. "I already know you want me."

She huffed and finally turned around, hands on her hips and a glare in her eyes. Why did he always have to be so difficult?

"I'm not stupid, Malfoy. I know how this goes. You want something, you take it, and then you move on. Terribly sorry to disappoint if you were expecting me to cry, but you can stop pretending now. You've gotten what you want, and you're not veela anymore, so stop pestering me. I'm trying to remember the way back."

Draco clucked his tongue in disappointment. "Have you completely forgotten that little ceremony already? We're Bonded, Granger. I'll always want you. Although, to be entirely honest, that's nothing new."

She frowned. "Your veela Bonded with me, not you."

"We were one and the same. Even though I was veela, it was still only a part of me, not all of me."

"What do you mean, you'll always want me?"

"I should think that's self-explanatory, as I didn't use any difficult words."

She scowled. "I mean, are you speaking sexually? Romantically?"

"Both."

She scoffed.

He closed the distance between them in two strides. "Do you know what it means to be Bonded?"

"I'm sure you're about to tell me," she remarked.

He glared. "It _means _that we are connected, attached, and permanently so. Can't you feel it? I'm _inside _you now, Granger." His grey eyes darkened as he held her gaze. "And I'll never want to be anywhere else."

Her stomach flipped pleasantly at the memories his word choice evoked and she forgot to breathe for several seconds.

"Rubbish," she declared when she regained her breath, convinced he was trying to smooth-talk her into shagging him again.

He growled and grabbed her upper arms firmly, but not enough to hurt.

"Whether you believe it to be rubbish or not, it's true. If you want to ignore it, then fine. But just know that the next bloke that looks at you with anything except amicable respect in his eyes will not be seeing anything at all afterward. I've waited _years _for you to be mine, and I will not give you up for anything."

It was close enough to a declaration of her as his property to rally the feminist in her, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to yell at him for it. Perhaps it was the passion in his tone, as if they were fated to be together. Perhaps it was the determination in his eyes, as if he would do anything for her. Perhaps it was the cautious hope rising in her chest, that maybe he truly did want to be with her. Whatever the reason, he seemed honest enough for her to consider him.

"And you're mine as well?" she verified.

He relaxed. "Yes," he replied confidently.

"Fine. We'll discuss us dating later. Right now we need to focus on getting back."

"Discuss?" he questioned. "What is there to discuss? We're going to date. Unless you mean we'll discuss the specifics, such as the time, the place, and how many times we'll be shagging-"

"Sorry," she interrupted a little snootily. "You seem to be under the false impression that I agreed to actually date you. What I agreed to do is to discuss whether or not I _want_ to date you."

"Granger," he objected, "my veela declared you as his - as _my_ \- unequivocal _mate _and we just shagged right over there, twice! How much more proof could you possibly need to tell you we belong together?"

"I don't care if there's a _prophecy _with our names on it down in the Department of Mysteries, claiming we're going to get married and rule the world!" she declared testily. "I am _not _going to date you unless _I_ decide to do so!"

Sure, she was fighting the tide, but it irked her how easily Draco always seemed to get his way. She couldn't pass up the chance to make him work for it a bit.

He frowned. "The Department of Mysteries? Prophecy?"

Should she not have said that? She'd always assumed his father had told him everything that had happened back in Fifth Year, but maybe he hadn't. Oops.

"Never mind that," she dismissed as she started walking along the river. "The point is that just because you seduced me doesn't mean you're automatically a good boyfriend. Show me you know how to treat me as your girlfriend and then we'll talk about making it official."

"That has something to do with why my father was arrested in Fifth Year, doesn't it!" he pursued, ignoring her distraction. "What does a prophecy have to do with it?"

"If your father didn't tell you, then why should I?"

He growled. "Granger, do _not _test me!"

"What happened to: 'Don't be afraid, mate. I won't hurt you'?" she taunted. "You're supposed to protect me, not hurt me. But if you're just going to threaten me all the time, then maybe I _shouldn't _date you."

She turned around to hide her grin, but he probably knew she was wearing it anyway. Just like how she knew he was sending her a glare right now. He said nothing in reply, but he didn't have to. They both knew she had him there. He had zero leverage right now.

"Follow me," he said instead, speeding up to take the lead. "But this isn't over, Granger. I will find out what you know."

She shrugged and followed him, nervously wondering if her charm had worked or not. She placed a hand against her abdomen and lightly rubbed it, seeing if there was a way for her to somehow tell, but she had no idea. She sighed and kept hoping.

* * *

When they returned to the veela's home, she and the three Malfoys readied for their departure. As they were about to leave, a nagging feeling shoved aside all her other worries, insisting she had missed something.

"Harry!" she gasped, looking around quickly. "Where's Harry?"

Draco shrugged, Narcissa tilted her head thoughtfully, and Lucius waved his hand behind him.

"Potter ran off with a few of them."

"Lucius!" his wife reprimanded. "You let them take him?"

"I alerted Sielle," he defended. "I was not about to duel them, 'Cissa."

"Harry!" Hermione called, running toward the back. "_Harry_!"

Her best friend popped his messy-haired head out of one of the more covered shelters.

"Hermione?"

"Harry, it's time to go. Are you alright?" she fussed, reaching him and checking him over.

"I'm fine," he assured. "Sielle made them promise not to enchant me or anything like that, so I've just been telling stories. We can leave."

The three veela behind him huffed and sulked, but he apologized, thanked them, and followed Hermione back to the Malfoys.

"Okay, now we're ready," the brunette announced.

When all five were once again back in London, Narcissa and Lucius apparated back to their manor. Harry left as well, to write up and file the paperwork for the mission that had just been completed. Before Hermione could return home, Draco's hand clasped her arm to get her attention.

"Now, about us -"

"I said I'll think about it, Malfoy," she interrupted, eager to get out of his presence. She'd thought that once he'd returned to being fully human, she wouldn't be as susceptible to him, but that sweet scent was still lingering on him and every time she looked at him all she could see were memories of their bodies intimately entwined. She had the most primal urge to apparate him somewhere private and have her way with him, but she shook it off. She wasn't going to date him by his veela influence or her hormones' either. She owed herself that much.

He narrowed his eyes. "I won't accept that. Either you date me, or I'll date someone else."

She studied him. He seemed serious, but with all his insistence that they were inescapably Bonded, she decided not to believe him. Besides, a boyfriend who gave ultimatums wasn't a good boyfriend to begin with.

"Fine. Good luck with that, Malfoy," she replied, shoving him off of her and disapparating.

* * *

Just when Harry thought the Malfoys were done getting into trouble for a while, he received another office visit.

"Potter, I need your advice."

He frowned. "This is about Hermione, isn't it?"

Draco flopped down dejectedly into the visitor's chair, making Harry stare in shock at the uncharacteristic behaviour.

"She won't even speak to me. How can I make her see that she can't just walk away like this never happened? We belong together, and she knows it. Bloody stubborn is what she is. Why is she wasting all this time being mad at me for something I had no control over?"

Harry sighed. He'd never thought he'd ever be consoling Draco Malfoy, but he also knew the pale-haired man was right, to an extent. Hermione knew it wouldn't be so easy to shut him out, but clearly Draco was too impatient to wait out her stubbornness.

"I don't think she's mad at you for the veela thing," he ventured cautiously, making Draco frown in confusion. "I think she's mad because you kept pushing her to date you, as if you _hadn't _spent your entire school career insulting her for the mere fact that she existed."

"But she's my mate," Draco replied. "The veela made me see that. I don't want anyone but her. Why waste time worrying about the past?"

"How can you so easily ignore your history with her?" Harry wondered.

Draco shrugged, which gave Harry an inkling as to the issue.

"She wasn't veela like you were, Malfoy. She didn't just 'know' what your veela told you. All she knew was that you've never been nice to her her entire life, and now all of a sudden, you're claiming eternal devotion and protection from the very thing you had been to her before. Can't you see how scared she probably is? If you can change your attitude so drastically because of one single event, what's to guarantee that you won't revert back to your old self once she agrees to date you?"

"I won't."

"But she doesn't know that. She can't know that, unless you prove to her _over time _that you won't."

Draco settled on a disgruntled look. "So I have to wait until she _decides _to trust me?"

Harry nodded and Draco swore.

"I'll be older than Nicholas Flamel before that happens! There has to be a quicker way to make her see sense."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You know Nicholas Flamel?"

Draco gave him a strange look. "Of course I do. He created the Philosopher's Stone, which can turn metal into gold and create the Elixir of Life. Have you and Weasley truly never read a book in your entire life?"

Suddenly, Harry didn't feel so hesitant to help Draco win Hermione over. He smiled.

"I'll see if I can ease her fears a bit, but yes, Malfoy. You'll just have to wait her out. She's too stubborn to be persuaded by anyone except herself."

The other man sighed. "Thanks, Potter. Let me know if you think of anything I can do."

Harry shook his head as Draco left his office. The Malfoys really were something else.

* * *

"Come in."

She looked up from her desk to see who it was and scowled.

"I've told you a thousand times, Draco-"

"I'm not going to ask you out again," he interrupted, halting her rant.

She frowned suspiciously, but said nothing.

"I understand now how mad the depth of my affection seems, given our past. You're right not to rush into anything. I've been attracted to you for a long time, but never had the gumption to defy my family's pureblood legacy and do something about it. For me, this isn't something new or sudden. I suppose it must be scary for you, since you didn't feel that way in school. I just want to let you know I'm going to give you what you need. I'll back off and let you contact me when, or if, you decide you want to give it a go. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for the way I treated you in the past. Excuses are useless now, but I do regret my words toward you, and I thought you should know. Do with this information whatever you wish. Feel free to owl me."

He didn't wait for a response before leaving. Hermione spent the next few hours wrapped up in thoughts of him and his newest attitude before giving up on work entirely and going home early.

She sat down on her sofa with a good novel in one hand and Crookshanks purring in her lap. A cup of strong tea sat on the table in front of her, but her free hand was pressed to her abdomen instead, rubbing a little. She gnawed on her lip. She still had no idea whether her charm had succeeded or not and she wouldn't know for a few more weeks at the very least.

She had promised herself she was going to be more assertive about what she wanted, but even after Draco's speech she was still afraid to trust him with her heart.

The most logical course of action would be to give him a chance and see where things went. It would allow him to prove to her over time that he was serious about her. She had no issue with the logic behind it.

The issue was what she actually _wanted_, which was to grab him, disapparate to a remote corner of the world, and barricade themselves in until she could look at him without the ridiculous urge to drag him to her bed...or the nearest sturdy-enough horizontal-ish surface.

* * *

Weeks passed and Draco kept his word. He hadn't even spoken to her, although he didn't ignore her. He occasionally acknowledged her with a nod, as if they were distant acquaintances. Like they had only ever been classmates who had vaguely known each other.

Hermione decided she didn't like it. She didn't like pretending that they hadn't ever been intimately acquainted, but she still wasn't ready to jump right into the thick of it, either.

Even though she knew Draco was only taking Harry's advice, as Harry hadn't bothered to deny anything when she wondered why Draco had backed off, she couldn't help but think that it was more than Ron had done. Draco didn't hide the fact that he very much wanted to be with her, but he still put his own wants aside so that she could get more comfortable with the idea of them together. The fact that Draco had asked for and was taking Harry's advice said much about how he had changed from that snotty prat he'd been at Hogwarts.

His patience wasn't endless, however. He was still a bit of a brat, used to having his way.

"Malfoy!" she admonished when he randomly barged into her office one afternoon.

He cast several spells to ward the room from any prying eyes and ears before sitting down across from her.

"Talk to me, Granger."

"About what?" she asked, caught off-guard.

"You know what. You can't possibly have any new arguments to analyze. At this point you're circling back to the same points over and over again. What is your decision?"

"You told me you would wait for me to contact you, remember?" she reminded him indignantly.

"Yes. I tried Potter's route, but you took too long. I want an answer now."

She sputtered, shooting up from her seat. "How dare you just barge in here and demand _anything _from me! I will answer you when I'm good and ready, Draco Malfoy, and I will not do so a moment sooner!"

He stood up as well with determination. "How dare I?" he asked quietly. "I _dare_ because you've already made your decision. You're just taking your sweet time informing me of it. No more games, Granger. Will you date me or not?"

"I don't know!" she blurted.

He narrowed his eyes. "Stop lying. You _do _know."

"No, I don't!"

He swiftly moved around her desk to tower over her. "Yes, you _do_. Do not insult me by pretending that you can't even sort out your own emotions. You _know _what you feel. You just like convoluting matters by making some arbitrary judgment about what you _should _be feeling to hide from the fact that you aren't as pristine as everyone wants you to be. You're a woman with needs, Granger. You're not made of bloody marble. Why are you denying yourself?"

She backed up to put more space between them, nearly tripping over her own chair. The sweet smell of his veela was still there, but only as a small part of his natural scent now. In the distance between, she had forgotten how much she liked it, and the memories of their joining flooded back.

She shook her head to clear it of the sudden influences.

"Spit it out, Granger," he growled. "What. Do. You. Want?"

"Not you!" she cried in distress. "I never wanted to be with _you_, of all people!"

He leaned back, startled, but she couldn't stop herself from answering him.

"Any list I've ever made of what I wanted in a boyfriend was always the same. I wanted someone kind, loyal, trustworthy, supportive, sensitive, but most importantly, someone who _gets it_, someone who gets _me_. Someone who understands that I don't want to be interrupted every five seconds when I'm reading. Someone who knows how to make me laugh when I'm sad. Someone who will hold me and make me feel loved and cherished and protected. Someone who loves me for who I am, despite my flaws. None of that has _ever _described you."

"What about sex?"

She frowned. "What about it?"

"Your list doesn't mention anything about sex."

"Why would it? It doesn't matter what my future husband looks like."

Malfoy watched her pensively for a long time.

"What?" she snapped eventually.

"You honestly think you can be happy in a marriage with an unattractive husband?"

"Well, he wouldn't necessarily be unattractive. Beauty is subjective."

"But if he's unattractive to _you_?"

"I don't see why not."

He smirked. "I'm impressed, Granger. You've managed to completely delude yourself into believing your self-righteous piety."

She glared at him. "Get out, Malfoy."

His smirk dropped. "No. You need to hear this, Granger. Stop pretending. Stop trying to make yourself into something you're not. If you keep searching for a husband for the woman you're _supposed_ to be, you'll _never_ be happy. If you really want to find a husband who will love you despite your flaws, first you have to admit that you actually _have _them."

She bristled. "And what is that supposed to mean? I know I have flaws!"

He stepped forward. "Do you? I don't think so. Not the most important one, at least."

"And what would that be, exactly?" she snapped.

"That you won't admit to yourself that you want _passion _in your life, not just love."

"I already mentioned that!"

"No, you didn't! You went on and on about how loving and supportive and amazing he'd be, but you never once even _hinted _that you'd want to shag him, and you just told me that it doesn't matter what he looks like. It _does_ matter! He could be everything you ever looked for in a husband, but if you can't even think about snogging him, then it's doomed to fail."

"Oh? What makes you such an expert? How could you possibly know?"

"Why haven't you married Potter yet?"

"What? Why would I marry _Harry_?"

"He's all those things you listed, isn't he? Why haven't you even considered dating him?"

"I've considered it!"

"But you decided against it."

"So what if I did?"

"Why, though?"

"Because I don't have any romantic feelings for him!"

"In other words, you don't want to shag him."

"It's more complicated than that!"

"It really isn't."

She opened her mouth to prove him wrong, but realized she couldn't, so she closed it again.

"Allow me to solve your problem by making it exceedingly simple. How convinced are you that you already know everything there is to know about me?"

She frowned.

"If you are incapable of seeing me as anyone other than my twelve-year-old self in an adult body, then I will never bring it up again. If, on the other hand, you want to explore the adult I've become - _just_ explore, no obligations beyond that - then just say so and I'll do the rest."

Well, bugger. That really was exceedingly simple. Were her prejudices against his younger self so deep-seated that she couldn't see past them? She'd like to think that she's more mature than that. If that was the case, though, that should mean that she'd have no objections to dating him, or as he put it, exploring who he had become.

"One date," she decided. "One date to see what our dynamic will be if I date you and then I'll decide."

He straightened up with a pleased smirk. "Tonight?"

She frowned. "Tonight? How will you have time to plan anything?"

"My mother is the most accomplished socialite in Wizard Britain. I've picked up a few tips here and there." He winked at her and then made to leave. "Oh," he paused at the door, "and wear something sexy, won't you?" He shut the door before she had a chance to throw anything at him.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm ending it here, unless I either get inspired to continue or the plot bunny keeps gnawing. It's sated for now, at least. Thanks for reading!


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